Fire-escape



(No Model.)

W. W. 000K.

FIRE BSGAPE.

No. 581,197. Patented Apr. 20., 1897.

WITNESSES INVENTOR THE "cams-puns 0a., PHDTO'LITHQ. wAsnmGwN. o, c.

WVILLIAM WVINTON COOK, OF MOSCOW, PENNSYLVANIA.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 581 ,197, dated April 20, 1897.

Application filed April 11, 1896.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM WINTON COOK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Moscow, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof, in which similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to fire-escapes; and the object thereof is to provide an improved device of this class which is adapted to be secured to the wall of a building, near the top thereof, and by means of which persons at the various windows in said side of the building may be taken therefrom; and with this and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which Figure 1 is a side view of a part of the wall of a building, showing my improved fire-escape connected therewith; and Figs. 2, 3, and 4 represent details of the construction.

In the drawings forming part of this specificationI have shown at 5 a part of the wall of a'building, and in the practice of my invention I secure to the upper portion and near the ends thereof suitable pulley-frames 6. These pulley frames 6 are secured to the building in any desired manner, but in practice I prefer to employ a plurality of angle rods or bars 7, which are passed entirely through the wall of a building and secured on the inner side thereof in any desired manner, and these rods or bars are brought together at 8, and rigidly connected therewith in any desired manner are the pulley-frames 6, and mounted in each of said pulley-frames is a pulley 9, and said frames are provided at their upper and lower sides with tubular casings or extensions 10, which are adapted to serve as guides for the cable, chain, or cord 11, which is passed around said pulleys, and to retain the same in place thereon.

The ends of the cable, chain, or other device 11 are connected with a pulley-frame 12,

Serial No. 587,198. (No model.)

in which are mounted two pulleys 13 and 14, and I also provide a windlass 15, which is suitably supported at any desired point where it may be conveniently reached and operated, and said windlass is provided with a crank 16, and secured thereto is a rope 17, which is carried upwardly over the pulley l3 and downwardly around the pulley mounted in a free pulley-block 18, thence upwardly over the pulley 14, from which it is carried back and secured to the pulley-block 18, and the lower end of the pulley-block 18 is provided with a hook or similar device 19, from which a basket,- boX, or crate 20 may be suspended.

The pulley-frames 6 may be of any desired shape or construction, and the operation will be readily understood from the foregoing description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the following statement thereof.

It will be understood that the cable 11 may be manipulated so as to move the pulleyframe 12.from one end of the building to the other and that the basket 12 may be raised by means of the windlass 15 and brought even with any window or row of windows in the building, and all that is necessary to move a person from a building is for the person to step into the basket and hold onto the end of the rope 17, which is secured to the pulley-block 18, and said person may then be quickly lowered to the ground by means of the windlass 15.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a modified form of basket 20, which is preferably oblong in shape and provided with hinged covers 21 and a bail 22, and which may be connected with the hook 19 of the pulley-block 18 by a loop or ring 24, secured thereto, and by means of this form of a basket a child or children may be removed from one of the windows, as hereinbefore described.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a spring-metal band or ring 25, which is adapted for use by a person in descending from a window, and said band or ring in practice is provided with means (not shown) for securing it to the rope 17, or that end thereof connected with the pulley-block 18, and each end of the said ring or band is similarly provided with a plurality of tongues 27 and grooves 26, by which said ends are adapted to be connected, as will be readily understood, by means of these tongues and grooves, and in practice this ring or ban d is passed around the body of the person, as shown in Fig. 1, and connected with the end of the rope 17, which is secured to the pulley-block 18. I may also provide the windlass with a spring whereby it will automatically rewind the rope 17 thereon, so as to raise the basket 20; and it is evident that changes in and modifications of the construction herein described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

My improved fire-escape may also be used for raising firemen to the diiierent stories of a building, and by means of this invention one or more firemen may be hoisted to the window of a building, and carry a hose, so as to operate upon the fire through said window; and, as will be readily understood, various articles maybe thus hoisted to the various floors of a building and taken into the rooms or compartments thereof through the windows.

The fire-escape may also be of any desired strength and be so formed as to adapt itself to buildings of various heights and sizes, and by means thereof any or all of the windows in the wall or side of the building to which the fire-escape is attached may be reached and persons removed therefrom, and said fireeseapc may also be used in making repairs to the building, in painting the same, and for many other and similar purposes.

Having fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- In a fire-escape, stationary pulley-frames having tubular extensions, a plurality of angle rods or bars supporting said frames and adapted to be secured to a building, a pulley mounted in each of said frames, a cable passing over said pulleys, a movable frame secured to the ends of said cable, a cord passing over said latter frame, a receptacle secured to one end of said cord, a Windlass, and a spring-metal band adapted to engage said cord and provided at each end with a plurality of grooves and a plurality of corresponding tongues, all of the said parts being combined substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in pres ence of the subscribing witnesses, this 20th day of June, 18%.

\VILLIAM \VINTON COOK.

\Vitnesses:

JOHN KROTZER, CHARLES KROTZER. 

